


On a Wednesday in a Cafe (I Watched It Begin Again)

by sweeterthankarma



Series: SKAM Fic Challenge August 2020 [11]
Category: SKAM (Norway)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Jonas Noah Vasquez, F/M, LGBTQ Themes, Meet-Cute, Pansexual Eva Kviig Mohn, pansexual characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:54:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25855468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweeterthankarma/pseuds/sweeterthankarma
Summary: Even’s artwork sits beside the kiln, drying in front of a heavy duty fan. Broad stripes of magenta, yellow and cyan cover it, and a black ‘E’ is scrawled in loopy penmanship on whatever side Even had determined to be the front. He’s admiring it, thinking he hasn’t done too bad of a job for his first attempt at pottery since barneskole, and then someone behind him clears their throat, speaks up and distracts him.“Uh, sorry,” a girl says from behind him, “I think that’s mine.”
Relationships: Eva Kviig Mohn/Even Bech Næsheim, Isak Valtersen/Jonas Noah Vasquez
Series: SKAM Fic Challenge August 2020 [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1867486
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	On a Wednesday in a Cafe (I Watched It Begin Again)

**Author's Note:**

> This fic takes place in an AU where Even, Isak and Jonas were all childhood best friends, but eventually Isak and Jonas discovered their feelings for each other and now, in their mid-twenties, are getting engaged. Jonas and Eva never had more than a brief fling that Jonas never told any of his friends about, so Even never met her until now, where she's at their engagement party as Noora's plus one. Also, it's pretty much established that Eva is bi in canon and I certainly headcanon her that way, but for the sake of this fic she identifies as pan. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy, this one was a lot of fun to write since there's barely any content of these two interacting in the show! Partial inspiration came from [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Wu2_CESqs8) lovely fan edit made by loopy lupin!
> 
> Day 11 Prompt: Mug.
> 
> Title comes from the song "Begin Again" by Taylor Swift.

The air is thick with the smell of clay, acrylic paint and silica glaze, so much so that Even’s eyes water when his best friend Isak thrusts his dripping, overpainted rainbow vase in his face. 

“You’re going to need more than one vase after the ceremony,” Even comments, giving Isak an approving nod even as purple color nearly flows down the bottom. “Flowers are a very common wedding gift.”

Isak’s smile, toothy and wide, doesn’t fade. Even doesn’t think he’s ever seen him so casually happy, so gloriously unreserved. In their teenage years, he was always grumpy, oftentimes without meaning to be, but now, with Jonas’s hand in his, engagement rings on both their fingers— because of course they had a double proposal— his smile doesn’t leave his face.

Even’s happy for them, he really is. Watching his childhood best friends grow up to become the married couple he always knew they were destined to be feels like fate fulfilling itself. As for Even’s own love life, well, it’s  been almost eight months since he broke up with his ex, Sonja, and six since his not quite relationship, not quite friendship with Mikael fizzled out into what’s now reduced to awkward glances across the table everytime they both go to dip their paintbrush in the water bucket at the same time.

Most of the people at the party are queer, painting varieties of pride flags or love-focused sentiments onto canvases or pre-molded clay. And despite the fact that all Even really needed to do was paint three strokes of bright color onto a moderately bumpy surface, he still managed to defect his mug just enough to be noticeable. 

“Think mine’s ready yet?” Even asks, mostly towards Jonas since Isak’s too busy being teased by Eskild over his wonky lines and inaccurate order of the rainbow. 

“How have you been an out gay man for over five years and yet still don’t know the proper order of the rainbow? No, scratch that, how did you graduate kindergarten without knowing the order of the rainbow?” 

Jonas gives Even a distant shrug, too caught up in the endearing conversation between his fiance and their neighbor. Besides, his own half-painted bowl is proof that he’s as much of an amateur as Even is when it comes to pottery. 

Even stands, grimacing when his chair scrapes against the wooden floor, making more noise and attracting more attention than he’d like . They’re in some barn turned art studio that’s quaint, lit with fairy lights all through the rafters to persuade all who enter that this is a place of mild prestige, not one that has tin cans by the windows to catch rain dripping in from the gutter. (It is.)

Even’s artwork sits beside the kiln, drying in front of a heavy duty fan. Broad stripes of magenta, yellow and cyan cover it, and a black ‘E’ is scrawled in loopy penmanship on whatever side Even had determined to be the front. He’s admiring it, thinking he hasn’t done too bad of a job for his first attempt at pottery since barneskole, and then someone behind him clears their throat, speaks up and distracts him. 

“Uh, sorry,” a girl says from behind him, “I think that’s mine.” 

Even turns, ready to be apologetic even though he knows full well that it’s his own art in his hand. 

“Even,” he says, introducing himself and gesturing at the mug. 

“Eva,” the girl explains— and she’s pretty, that’s the first thought that strikes Even as a bewildered smile creeps across her face. She steps past him and tucks a long strand of auburn-brown hair behind her ear as she peers at the variety of pottery laid out onto the rickety table, wooden and tippy. 

“What are the chances?” Eva says, still surveying the table and then reaching out for her own cup. “Two pansexuals with almost the exact same name meet in an art cafe?”

Even quirks his eyebrows. “Is that what this place is called?”

Eva shrugs, folding her arms across her chest though the gesture is anything but unfriendly. “Something like that.”

Even looks down to see her art, nearly identical to his. Side by side, the only thing distinguishable from them is the slant of the first letter of their names and the tiny, rather insignificant chip on the handle. Even points to it, tells Eva it’s how that he knew this one was his, and she chuckles.

“You’re a true artist,” she comments. There’s a pause, a lull in the conversation, and then she surprises him by saying, “you know, I dated a girl with the same name once and I thought that was as close to narcissism as I could get. This is pretty close, too.” 

Even chuckles, and before he can think better of it, replies, “yeah, I guess Eva and Even wouldn’t be too hard to manage.”

He immediately curses himself, feels his cheeks blushing red and turning hot. He’s about ready to apologize, to say that he was just kidding but that was awkward, he shouldn’t have said it, but Eva holds a hand up. 

He expects her to brush him off, to say it was nice to meet him and then retreat back to her table to never speak to him again, but instead, she takes his mug from his hands and replaces it with hers.

“Here, let’s swap. You can have mine and I can have yours. Like a present, so we’ll know that someone else will enjoy our art that we’ve worked so tirelessly over.”

Eva pretends to wipe her brow, heaving a sigh of false exhaustion before letting out a little joking laugh. Even can’t help but think that t he sound is just as pretty as she is, confident and unabashed, and he feels himself staring, doesn’t will himself to stop even though he probably should.

Or maybe he shouldn’t, because she seems to be staring back a bit too, and then after another moment of possible hesitation, she adds,  “and if you want, you can have my phone number too.”

Even grins. “I’d like that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Barneskole = primary school.
> 
> If you enjoyed, please let me know! Comments and kudos make my day. 
> 
> Come say hi at my Tumblr blog [here!](https://sweeterthankarma.tumblr.com/)


End file.
